Killer going back to jail for probation violation

By RICK CUNDIFFSTAFF WRITER

Published: Thursday, January 6, 2005 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 5, 2005 at 8:59 p.m.

OCALA - A man who spent more than seven years in prison for a 1994 murder is headed back to prison for violating probation.
Circuit Judge Hale R. Stancil ordered Derek Dermtress Sesler, 36, to prison to complete the remaining six-year suspended term that was part of his original sentence. Stancil noted that Sesler had violated probation twice before.
"You had two bites of the apple. The apple's gone. . . . From looking at this, I don't think I can give you another chance," Stancil told Sesler. "I really hate to do it, sir, but under the circumstances, I feel like I have to."
Sesler was released from prison in November 2002, with a four-year probation term. Sesler was charged with violating probation after he tested positive for cocaine use in May.
Sesler had two prior probation violation charges. Circuit Judge William T. Swigert dismissed one such charge and reinstated Sesler's probation on the second. Swigert's retirement meant the case transferred to Stancil.
Wednesday's sentence should have come as no surprise to Sesler, prosecutor Jerry Burford said.
"I don't know what the guy expects," Burford said. "This guy wants to go back to prison."
Under state sentencing guidelines in effect at the time of his initial arrest, Sesler probably will serve about three years, Burford said. But the fact that the original term was a suspended sentence could mean Sesler will serve the full term, he added.
Sesler's lawyer, Donna Pike, declined to comment after the hearing.
Sesler and a co-defendant, Anterio Hardwick, were charged in 1996 with the slaying of 44-year-old Adelle Dawson. Ocklawaha residents found Dawson lying alongside a roadway on Dec. 20, 1994. Dawson died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
The case remained unsolved for 15 months before police arrested Hardwick and Sesler. Hardwick went to trial twice. The first trial ended with a hung jury in August 1996. Two month later, a second jury acquitted him.
Sesler took a plea deal in 1997, in exchange for prosecutors reducing the charge from first-degree to second-degree murder. Then-Circuit Judge Thomas Sawaya (now an appeals court judge) sentenced Sesler to 16 years in prison, with six years suspended. Sesler served about seven years before being released on probation.
Rick Cundiff covers the courts. He can be reached at 867-4130, or rick.cundiff@starbanner.com.

OCALA - A man who spent more than seven years in prison for a 1994 murder is headed back to prison for violating probation.<BR>
Circuit Judge Hale R. Stancil ordered Derek Dermtress Sesler, 36, to prison to complete the remaining six-year suspended term that was part of his original sentence. Stancil noted that Sesler had violated probation twice before.<BR>
"You had two bites of the apple. The apple's gone. . . . From looking at this, I don't think I can give you another chance," Stancil told Sesler. "I really hate to do it, sir, but under the circumstances, I feel like I have to."<BR>
Sesler was released from prison in November 2002, with a four-year probation term. Sesler was charged with violating probation after he tested positive for cocaine use in May.<BR>
Sesler had two prior probation violation charges. Circuit Judge William T. Swigert dismissed one such charge and reinstated Sesler's probation on the second. Swigert's retirement meant the case transferred to Stancil.<BR>
Wednesday's sentence should have come as no surprise to Sesler, prosecutor Jerry Burford said.<BR>
"I don't know what the guy expects," Burford said. "This guy wants to go back to prison."<BR>
Under state sentencing guidelines in effect at the time of his initial arrest, Sesler probably will serve about three years, Burford said. But the fact that the original term was a suspended sentence could mean Sesler will serve the full term, he added.<BR>
Sesler's lawyer, Donna Pike, declined to comment after the hearing.<BR>
Sesler and a co-defendant, Anterio Hardwick, were charged in 1996 with the slaying of 44-year-old Adelle Dawson. Ocklawaha residents found Dawson lying alongside a roadway on Dec. 20, 1994. Dawson died of a gunshot wound to the chest.<BR>
The case remained unsolved for 15 months before police arrested Hardwick and Sesler. Hardwick went to trial twice. The first trial ended with a hung jury in August 1996. Two month later, a second jury acquitted him.<BR>
Sesler took a plea deal in 1997, in exchange for prosecutors reducing the charge from first-degree to second-degree murder. Then-Circuit Judge Thomas Sawaya (now an appeals court judge) sentenced Sesler to 16 years in prison, with six years suspended. Sesler served about seven years before being released on probation.<BR>
Rick Cundiff covers the courts. He can be reached at 867-4130, or rick.cundiff@starbanner.com.<BR>